New York State criminal records of arrests not leading to conviction may be sealed (including expunged, erased, or purged). The individual can deny the existence of the arrest, unless he or she is applying for a law enforcement job.

Criminal conviction records can be sealed (including expunged, erased, or purged).In 2009, a law was passed as part of Rockefeller Drug Law Reform to provide conditional sealing of first-time drug offenses for defendants who complete a diversion program and up to three drug related misdemeanor convictions.

Defendants may deny the existence of a conditionally sealed record. All other adult criminal convictions (misdemeanors and felonies) may not be sealed.

In New York, violations, such as disorderly conduct, are not considered criminal convictions, and most (with the exception of certain violation-level convictions for loitering or DWI) may be sealed at the state level.Records relating to the underlying arrest (fingerprints, arrest photo, etc.) are sealed or destroyed, and the conviction will not appear on a DCJS rap sheet.

Records of juvenile delinquency proceedings resolved in the individual’s favor are sealed unless the interests of justice require otherwise. Individuals age 16 and over may request sealing of juvenile delinquency adjudication records (not involving designated felonies) upon written motion to the court. The court may seal such records if it is in the interests of justice.

The sealed records will not appear on the copy of the rap sheet that DCJS sends to employers and others. But violation-level convictions are not sealed on the court level. The court records regarding the fact of the conviction are not sealed. However, the New York State Office of Court Administration (OCA) has agreed not to include information about violation-level convictions in records it sells to the public.